Lug seal powder closure



United States Patent Inventor Paul A. Marchant Kansas City, Missouri Appl. No. 693,295 Filed Dec. 26, 1967 Patented Nov. 24, 1970 Assignee Container Company Kansas City, Missouri a corporation of Delaware. by mesne assignment LUG SEAL POWDER CLOSURE 1 Claim, 7 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 222/520, 222/5 65 Int. Cl 865d 41/20, 365d 41/04 Field of Search 222/520,

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[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,121,519 2/1964 Cherba 222/519 3,216,630 11/1965 Stuli 222/549X FOREIGN PATENTS 542,439 11/1955 Belgium 222/519 6,412,496 4/1966 Netherlands 222/521 Primary Examiner-- Robert B. Reeves Assistant Exam'inerFrederick R. Handren AttorneysHarold R. Beck and Robert P. Whipple ABSTRACT: A container and dispensing closure means comprising a container body having an extending neck on which a cap is heiically openable and closable and whereon the cap is maintained in captive position when in open dispensing position.

Patented Nov. 24, 1970 Sheet 1 of 2 INVENTOR. PAUL A. MARCHANT BWf 4 Patented Nov. 24, 1970 3,542,258

INVENTOR I PAUL A. MARCHAN IBYW W I BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various prior art container'and dispensing closure devices have been utilized for dispensing various materials from plastic containers, however, some of these prior art devices have been so constructed, that residual material contained in the cap tends to leak after the closure has been moved to closed position. Additionally, container and dispensing clo-- sure devices which comprise a shutoff cap and which'are captive on the neck ofa container body may be difficult to assemble due to interfering structure which must be deflected into a 2 a DESCRIPTION THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 5 a container body which is generally bottle-shaped, but

snap-on position when the cap is installed onthe container neck.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a container and dispensing closure means wherein a hollowcontainer body is provided 4 and helically operable on the neck ofa hollow container body;

the cap and neck having cooperable screw thread portions disposed nearer to the body than the'stop means on the cap; said stop means having an annular inclined portion adapted to snap over a rim and located such that the screw threads of the cap and neck may be engaged to force the inclined portion of the stop means over the rim of the neck, and to thereby facilitate installation of the snap-on cap of the invention.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel captive closure means for hollow containers, and particularly a structure which may be made of plastic or other suitable resilient material to provide a closure structure which is easy to install on container necks, and which when closed,

substantially prevent residual leakage of material from the cap.

Further objects and advantages of the invention may be apparent from the following specification, appended claims, and accompanying drawings:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a fragmentary side elevational view of a container .body neck having a.closure cap thereon and showing portions preferably made of resilient plastic, or the like. This hollow body 10 is provided with a reduced diameter hollow neck portion 12 having externally disposed helically shaped screw thread structures 14 on the outer side of a reduced diameter portion 16 of the neck 12. These helical screw thread structures 14 are of the interrupted type and are of'fairly high pitch angle adapted for use inaxially actuating a captive enclosure cap' 18 relative to'the container neck, as will be hereinafter described in detail.

The hollow container neck portion 16 is symmetrical about ijf;

a central axis 20, and is provided with an open end portion 22 through which materials may be dispensed from the container body 10. Surroundingthe open end 22 is an annular end surface 24 which is disposed on a plane at substantially right angles to the central axis 20 of the hollow neck portion 16.

The enclosure cap 18 is generally cup-shaped in cross sec tion, as shown in FIG. Iof the drawings, and is normally in an inverted cup-shaped disposition. This closure cap is provided with an enclosure end 26 and an integral generally cylindrical skirt portion 28 having inwardly directed helical screw thread structures 30 which are of the interrupted type, as shown best in FIG. 5 of the drawings. These screw thread structures 30 cooperate with the helical screw thread structures 14 on the exterior of the cylindrical neck portion 16.

The helical screw thread structures 30 acting on the complemental screw thread structures 14 tend to move the closure cap 18 longitudinally along the central axis 20 when the cap 18 is rotated relative to the neck 16. The cap is provided with a plurality of dispenser openings 32 which extend therethrough and which align with the annular end surface 24. The structure surrounding the openings 32 being adapted to abut or be forced into contiguous relationship with the annu- FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing structures similar to that shown in FIG. 2 and on substantially the same plane, and illustrating in detail the valve structure of the closure of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken from the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken axially through the closure cap of the invention, and showing helical screw thread means on the inner side of the skirt ofsaid cap;

FIG. 6 is a normally lower end view of the closure cap of the invention taken from the line 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a top or plan view of the container neck of the invention taken from the line 7-7 of FIG. 2, and omitting the closure cap of the invention.

lar end surface 24 to effect a tight seal and to prevent residual leakage of powder or other material from areas surrounding these openings when the end portion 26 of the enclosure cap 18 is helically advanced into contiguous relation with the annular end surface 24.

An annular rim structure 34 forms a flange which extends the area or radial disposition of the annular end surface 24 and this rim structure 34 forms a part of a stop means for holding the cap 18 in a captive position on the neck 16, as will be hereinafter described.

The cap 18 is provided with an inwardly directed stop structure 36 adapted to engage the rim 34 projecting radially outward from the neck 16. This stop 36 is provided with an annu-1- lar inclined portion 38 adapted to facilitate the resilient spreadingof the stop structure 36 over the rim 34 when the cap is installed in captive position on the neck, as will be hereinafter described in detail.

The exterior of the cap at its skirt 28 is provided with serrated portions 40, shown best in FIG. 4 of the drawings. These serrations 40 provide a frictional hold for a persons fingers when rotating the cap 18 into and out of open or closed position, as desired.

It will be seen that thehelical screw thread means 14 and 30 are disposed a considerable distance from the ledge 34 and stop 36 and are closer to the container body 10 than to the annular end surface 24 so as to permit engagement of the helical screw thread structures 30 with the'screw thread structures 14 preliminary to passage of the inclined portion 38 of the stop 36 over the rim 34, such that torque applied to the closure cap 18 may assist in forcing the inclined portion 38 over the rim 34 and installing the cap in captive position on the neck portion 16 of the container body 10.

It will be seen from FIG. 1 of the drawings, that the skirt 28 of the enclosure cap 18 is provided with a bore portion 29 of sufficient diameter to clear the peripheral portions of the screw thread structures 14, and that the inwardly projecting complemental screw thread structures 30 of the skirt 28 may be thus readily placed over and engaged with the screw thread structures 14 in a preliminary assembly motion in order to accomplish the installation of the annular incline portion 38 over the rim 34, as hereinbefore described.

As shown in detail in FIG. 3 of the drawings, it will be seen that the end surface structure 24 may be engaged by structure surrounding each opening 32 in order to prevent a substantial or residual leakage of material through the openings 32 after the end wall 26 of the enclosure cap 18 has been forced into engagement with said annular end surface 24.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the helical screw thread means 14 and 30 are both interrupted screw thread means and are in segments disposed substantially 120 apart and at a fairly steep helical angles so that a small amount of rotational movement of the enclosure cap 18 relative to the neck 16 will quickly advance the cap 18 longitudinally along the central axis 20 either to open or close the openings 32 with respect to the annular end surface 24. These elements32 and 24 forming shutoff valve structure of the enclosure cap and container neck in accordance with the present invention.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications of the present invention may be resorted to in a manner limited only by a just interpretation of the following claims.

l claim:

1. ln a container and dispensing closure means, the com- I bination comprising: a hollow container body having a hollow,

open ended neck, said neck having a flat, planar end surface, at least apart of said surface being provided by the top walls of two integral annular collars, one extending outwardly and one extending inwardly from the top surface of said neck, said outwardly extending collar having a cylindrical sidewall; a closure cap rotatably mounted on said neck, said cap having a flat, planar top portion and an annular skirt depending therefrom, said top portion having a plurality of dispenser openings therein, said openings being opposite said flat, planar end surface of said neck and adapted to be closed by abutment therewith, saidannular skirt being provided with an inwardly projecting stop structure engaging the underside of said outwardly extending annular collar when said cap is in the open position, said annular skirt providing a smooth, cylindrical inner wall between the top of said stop structure and the underside of said top portion of said cap, said inner wall making close, sliding contact with said cylindrical sidewall provided on said annular collar; cooperable, interrupted, high pitch, helical threads on said neck below said collar and on the inner sidewall of said skirt below said stop structure for opening and closing said cap, said threads being positioned on said neck and said skirt to engage before said stop structure makes contact with said annular collar whereby rotation of said cap will force said stop structure over said annular collar and being of such a length to prevent disengagement of said threads and free rotation of said cap after it is initially threaded onto said neck. 

